May 07, 2008

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there, enjoy this Sunday. Sit tight, relax and make others serve you for a change! You all deserve a Nobel Peace prize each for being very very patient and very very loving, even when kids throw their very very fickle mood swings in your face everyday and you still love them to death!!:D

Last weekend, we did lot of yard work, gardening and some veggie planting at almost 80F temp and survived somehow to blog today. Sneak a peek here to see what's up in my backyard! :)Let me start with a yummy light dessert for all moms today and then a delicious vegetarian Mexican meal!

Arroz Con Leche, with Raspberries:Arroz Con Leche (Rice with milk in Spanish) is nothing but Rice Pudding which is flavored with nutmeg and Cinnamon and mixed with Raspberries (my addition, frozen will do fine too). I have made it light for moms but traditionally made with heavy cream or whipped cream folded in and even with egg yolks, which gives it a nice creamy texture and taste. Did you know that Raspberries have the highest fiber content of any fruit?! You could add any fruit or chocolate sauce or garnish with sweetened coconut on top if you like.

You need: 1/2 cup quick cooking or medium grain rice, 1 cup water, 2 cups 2% milk or fat free Half and half, 3-4 tbsp white sugar or more to your taste, 1/2 tsp sweet Cinnamon powder, few grating of Nutmeg, 1 tsp Vanilla essence, 1/4 cup Chopped Raspberries, save a few for garnishing and curly Cinnamon sticks for garnish.To make it:1. Add rice, water in a glass bowl and microwave for 6 mins, uncovered or you can cook on stove top stirring all the time, which takes a long time.2. Add all the milk and sugar, mix and MW again at 50% for another 6-8 mins or stir slowly on the stove top until rice is cooked soft and creamy with thickish sauce.3. Take it out, mix well. Adjust the sugar and if it's too thick, you could thin it out with more milk, must heat again gently.4. Add nutmeg, vanilla essence, Cinnamon pd, fold in. Let it cool covered in the fridge for an hour. 5. Add Raspberries pieces to rice and milk, mix in gently, chill again. Serve in a individual bowl, garnished with few Raspberries and Cinnamon sticks.

Now a yummy vegetarian Mexican meal:

Chiles Rellenos in salsa or spicy Tomato sauce, Arroz Con Frijoles Negro with Avocado-Jicama salad and serve this meal with Arroz Con Leche with Raspberries for dessert:Chiles Rellenos means stuffed Pobalno chillies, could be stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and re-fried beans in salsa or any meat fillings as well. Arroz Con Frijoles Negro means rice with black beans in Spanish, a Mexican style dish which makes a great accompaniment with any side dish. All served with very Mexican salad which includes fresh sliced Jicama, Avocado, lemon juice on a bed of ice burg lettuce or thinly sliced fresh Cabbage as sometimes they do in Mexico! You also don't have to fry the Poblanos, can serve it stuffed and sauteed! But fried tastes better with gooey cheese inside!:)

A Mexican platter of Chiles Rellenos in salsa,Arroz Con Frijoles Negro with a Avocado and Jicama salad on the side is my offer to "A.W.E.D.-Mexico" event which is launched by DK of "Culinary Bazaar" blog. Thanks for hosting DK, enjoy!:)

Step by step photos, click on it to enlarge:You need: 4 large Poblano chillies, 4 pieces of 3-4" long rectangle 1" thick Monterey Jack cheese sticks, about 1/4 cup of Re-fried beans to stuff, 1 tbsp of Queso Fresco or Mexican fresh cheese to garnish.For coating batter: Traditionally, they use beaten egg white to coat but since this is a vegetarian meal, I used 1/2 cup Plain flour, salt, pinch of baking powder with enough water to make thick batter, somewhat like this snack.Salsa or sauce: Store bought Salsa or home made as the recipe given below.

To make these: 1. Bake or grill Poblanos in the oven with 400F for 20 mins or so until you see the skin starts to get reddish. Take them out on a plate, cover with a bowl to make it sweat for a minute or two.2. Peel the skin gently, slit one side to make a pocket with a knife or scissors. With a spoon, take out the seeds and the veins without tearing the chillies.Wash gently under the water in the sink, pat them dry.3. Using a spoon, spread the re-fried beans inside the Poblano, place a cheese stick on top, place some more beans paste, cover it gently and seal it with a toothpick.Repeat with others, chill in the fridge for 1/2 hour to firm the beans paste.Make sauce: Use fresh Salsa, heat it for 1 minute or blend fresh 3 Tomatoes, 1/2 onion, few cilantro sprigs, salt, 1 garlic, 1/2 tsp Cumin pd. Put it in a bowl, heat in the microwave until you get a sauce.Coating to fry: Mix flour, salt,enough water and baking pd to make a thick mixture and let it rest for 5 minutes.To fry: Heat oil to 375F. Dip stuffed Poblanos in batter, fry until crisp, drain on paper towel. When cool, remove the toothpicks.To serve; place few spoonfuls of salsa or sauce on the plate, put one Chile Relleno on it, sprinkle some Queso Fresco. Serve with Mexican black beans rice and salad on the side.

For salad:In Mexico, they sometimes use very thinly shredded cabbage instead of Iceberg lettuce. I had lettuce at hand, so I used that. Add thinly sliced fresh Jicama, 1 Avocado pulp, coarsely chopped, 1/2 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Mix and chill until serving time.Variations to to serve Poblanos: After you make the sauce in the pan, fried Poblanos are added and simmered in the sauce before serving. I just kept them separate to retain the crunch rather soggy Chiles Rellenos. Your choice!

***************************************************************************************************Book: I am still reading the book "Daughters of Kerala", which you can see on the sidebar right now. I will review this beautiful book next week.Movie? Saw none this week but eagerly waiting for new Indiana Jones movie release and looking forward to this weekend too!! YAY!I tried these dishes last week, thanks for posting all these yummies girls. Haunting your blogs continues!! :D

A word about shn's Potato Eshtu: I was reheating the Eshtu for dinner y'day. My son came home from school, took a deep breath and says "something smells so GOOD! Mother, what culinary delight are you bestowing upon us today?" ;D(Btw, the word "mother" comes out of his mouth only when I make butter chicken and Tikka masala, not for anything vegetarian until now! Hahaha! They ate this stew with toast. Thanks shn!)********************************************************************************************************Lastly, I received few lovely surprises one Sunday morning two week's ago, a YUMMY BLOGAWARD (award pic attached in my side bar)from my blog buddies Dee,Dhivya Vikram and Meera. Thank you both so very much dear Dee, DV and Meera, very cute award for my blog which I proudly accept, appreciate and display!I also thank Latha N of "The YUM blog" for giving me the "Forever Friends" globe. I am your friend forever Latha, thank you sweetie, hugs to you! Blog more please, twice a week sounds great too! :)

"The YUM blog" award has been crated by Roopa of "My Kitchen treats":"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos", I thank you as well Roopa! :)As per the rules, I have to "list four of my favorite desserts that I have prepared or eaten and pass the award to four of my fellow bloggers".Here are four of my most favorite desserts I have blogged so far......1. Mango Cobbler,2. Ricotta Cheese Rasmalai,3. Texas Sheet Cake,4. Strawberry yogurt Pie, also called "Mustikkaiiras" in Finland.

I am forwarding this award to four more yummy blogs. If you have received it already, enjoy it again! :) I hope you follow the same award rules as listed at Roopa's blog ie to display the award, list 4 of your favorite desserts and forward the award to 4 more yummy deserving blogs! It's very hard to choose among hundreds of yummy blogs but here are 4 of them.Yummy blogs:Maheswari's "Beyond the usual",Lakshmi G 's "Taste of Mysore",Ramya 's "Mane Adige",Pooja 's "My creative ideas".Enjoy and I will see you all again next week!:))

wonderful and wonderful!...great to see those entries and of course so nice of you to try from other blogs..thats so much of an inspiration!...and congrats on the awards..no mention or not, yours is so yummy!

Hi ms. Mmm..!! Ancho chillies sounds great too. My kids went to Outer banks on school field trips but we haven't been there yet, bit far from here.We ent to nearby cities. All the hotels fill up quickly from this month,so better book it early.Internet search will help you more finding a hotel than me. There are Museums and many Light houses, so you will enjoy!:))

Thanks for tagging me Anjali. I did my last MeMe few months back at Aroma, not doing them anymore!:))

Thanks Sri. I am enjoying all the new dishes, have a great Mother's day there this Sunday!:)

Asha that looks such a wonderful raspberry dessert. My girls only call me mother when they are cross with me!Hope you have a Happy Mother's Day on Sunday~ we had our celebratory day here in the UK back near the beginning of March. :)

LOL!! Chris, hope they didn't call you "MOTHER" too many times! You do not deserve it at all! I remember, you celebrate in UK at different time than US. It's too commercialized here anyway, hawking diamonds and 5 stars dinners etc. A hug from my kids will do for me!:)Pudding is really tasty, hope you try. You could add 2 egg yolks but without it is quite okay too, less fat and cholesterol!:)

I knew ,that you will cook something very nice for AWED too :). You are such a versatile cook. Any plan to open a restaurant in partnership with me ;) ??? I am all in for that :D. I just sent something to DK one of already posted it is :)). Not in to much Mexican cooking yet except Salsa :)). I wish i could be your next door neighvour to come and peak some curry leaves from your garder , just as we used to do in India :). Oh I miss those days :(( .I love all your plants ,and waiting to see little okras and all others on those posts soon :) . I am glad that you make chhole bhature , hope you liked it :). And thank you for passing on award to me , I will post that soon. Hugs to you . take care.P.S.- I am glad to see you following the resolutions for blogging :).

hi asha!!great entries..i love it love it love it:)..I was drooling seeing the mexican plattter..its my fav:)..raspberry dessert is also looking delicious..sooooooooo many yummy recipes to try out from ur blog..i bookmark almost everything i see here..:)

Your blogs are one of blogs I look forward to for vegetable gardening. Excellent work. I couldnt get the link where you got the curry leaf plant from. Anways nice blogs, recipes, photos and ofcourse your garden. Thanks for everything.

Happy Mothers day to you too, Ashakka....I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!! And those Chiles Rellenos looks so good! quite similat to our menasinkai bajji!!! :DAnd hey, congrats on the award and thanx sooooo much for passing it on to me!!!! I'm honored :)

Its no wonder I love u sooo much...You are such a darling and your blog is a Foodie lover's haven! I am spell bound once again by your feast and as always am drooling :)..if u dont mind I am gng to take ur previous posts too! Cant afford to miss out on any...They all are YUMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hello dear! Visiting your blog after long! :) Chiles rellenos sounds delicious! I must try it out. I am unable to visit many blogs due to internet problem in our locality since 2 months. Your blog took 10 minutes to load! :D Will send you a mail in detail! HUGS DEAR!! :))

hey asha, chiles rellenos is awesome..esp in a restaurant called gloria's here...vow...now I can make it at home??i am going to talk to you later this yr about gardening....plan to start next spring :)happy mom's day to u too!

Thats an amazing platter Ashaji.. U are a super woman I must say. Here I am slogging in the kitchen to make one proper meal a day, and there u are whipping up some of ur own and from others blog too!!!

Latha, great to see you. Take your time, you don't have to comment if you don't get time. You already have too much on your plate.See you later!:))

Hi Orchid, EC, Rajitha and Siri, thank you girls!:) I am really enjoying cooking from other blogs.One of these days, I will not have anything of my own food to blog about!!:D

Rachna, you can use Jalapeños but dish will be very very spicy. Poblanos and Anchos are milder taste after roasting and also have large space inside to stuff. But if you can handle the heat and get larger Jalapeños, then yes, you can use those chillies!:)

Wonderful Mexican food Asha..Love that Rice you've made. Congrats on the very well deserved Yummy Blog Award!! Btw, went thru all the 4 desserts you mentioned, am goin to try the mango cobbler soon :)..The lemon streusel cake was a super hit, am goin to make again soon..Nice collection of plants too!!

hello super mom:)gosh, u r bk from ur trip and already in full swing. very beautiful mexican platter ashakka. i am glad to know u enjoyed sajjige rotti(donno hw u manage to cook so many dishes from bloggers) will come bk later to chk ur rajasthani thali.till then have a wonderful mother's day celebration:)

Love the chile rellenos. I was actually going to make it for AWED, but ended up making a chile rellenos inspired pasta dish.. I'm going to post it today.. Check it out on my blog when you get a chance. Have a wonderful Mother's Day Asha..

Haha! Thanks Sandeepa. We nearly missed a real Tornado last night! It was miles away and then turned to North! Phew!! Happy Mother's day to you!:))

Thanks Shi, I will freeze these until you come! :D

Maya, Mango cobbler is my fave too, try it, not very hard at all to make! Use ripe sweet mangoes :))

Ho Viji, good to see you. Are you back? I will check your blog today. Happy Mother's day to you!:))

Hello sweet Sia, great to see you girl, missed you.I will enjoy, thanks. Sajjige rotti was fab, made some chutney as well. Will try other dishes too, takes time. I am having a ball cooking rom other blogs!!:))Trisha has 3rd AP exam today, got to go to school and pick her up in few hrs, trying to catch up with posts today. Send me few photos of the wedding!

Thanks Rich!:)We are okay. Tornado just passed by our city and hit the next city, caused lot of damage but nobody is dead or anything. I was worried about Trisha's car which is parked outside but nothing happened, thank GOD!:))

Fabulous Mexican feast, Asha! And a hearty thanks for pointing up a source for Indian seeds.(Right in my own backyard, too.) I'm growing okra this year, but now I want chiles, gourds, curry plants...; )

Thank you Swati, you too have a great Sunday. Yeah, all that verbal stuff have stopped long back, now need a appointment to just to talk! ;D

Thanks NP, hope you try some of them today. Have a wonderful Sunday!:)

Thank you Susan, you too enjoy today!:)Plant Gourds directly in the ground or in the pots with a big hole in the bottom, so the roots grow into the ground.They don't seem to grow well just in the pots. Good luck. I still have to plant them, may be today!

Once again, I marvel at your blog.Delicious looking food. Even here is NZ we celebrate Cinquo du MayoGood excuse to have Margaritas!!!Happy Mothers Day by the way. Hope you had a nice time with your family.

I am honored , Asha....many thanks to ur young man :)Was really happy to read that early in the morning itself....i had not seen this post , so would have missed the beautiful part :) Thanks a lot again :)

I have tasted stuffed poblano chillies and i love it....it looks tempting on a bed of salsa....great combo, isnt it? :)

Oh thank you Pooja, you are the sweetest girl I have ever known too! Hugs to you. Yeah, we went out for dinner, didn't have any good movies to watch, got some gifts, did some gardening and the day went smoothly. Not bad for "Once a year" celebration but back to routine now! ;DHave a great night,hugs. I am off until Wednesday, see you then!:))

Congrats Asha for the award! :) Thank you for mentioning my blog too:) I was searching for a nice mexican dish, and here I saw your Mexican platter!! I love the spicy Mexican food, it is the spiciest food I found here in US when I was searching for something spicy apart from Indian food :) ....I love chipotle too!!

Hey one more thing, where did you get that photo of hibiscus? It reminded me of Kerala:) We had lots of Hibiscus flowers in our garden at my place :) Do they grow here too? I am looking forward to your review about the book you are reading now :)

Happy Mother's Day, Asha! Hope it was a lovely one. I love love love chiles rellenos -- yours look so delicious with the tasty salsa! And avocado-jicama salad, that's a great idea! Enjoy the spring weather without too many sneezes I hope :)

Hi asha!! Read your very good review and also thanks for the reply about the flower:) I am surprised to know they grow here in US too :-0 ...Maybe its because of the cold weather here on the New England side:) ...

New England is very cold for Dasavala. I don't have that in my garden right now, I saw many plants at Lowe's, got to get one or two. Don't know whether they survive the frost and snow etc. Some years we do get those icy weather in the south too!:)

I have been searching extensively for a curry leaf plant in Canada, but I'm unable to till now. I just love it a lot! I hope I find one here. Your plants looks so good, I have planted only Mint, Methi and Coriander this year!

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